Boosting Mental Capital And Wellbeing In The UK

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Main Category: Mental Health
Also Included In: Neurology / Neuroscience;  Seniors / Aging;  Public Health
Article Date: 22 Oct 2008 - 11:00 PDT

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A UK government think tank has recommended a strategy for boosting the nation's mental capital and wellbeing "from cradle to grave" and identified three key policy change areas: learning in the early years, wellbeing at work, and the ageing population.

The report, which was released on 22 October, was sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and produced by Foresight, the UK government's think tank on future issues.

The study examines how a person''s mental resources change over their lifetime, from child to adult and then into old age. It pinpoints what might help and what might hamper a person's lifelong development and finds that the consequences, for the individual, society and the economy are considerable.

The study which took two years and involved over 400 leading experts in fields ranging from economics to neuroscience, concludes that there needs to be decisive action by individuals, the public and private sectors and by government to make the most of mental capital and wellbeing in order to maximise future economic and social benefits.

A person's "mental capital" says the report is a person's total cognitive and emotional resources: not only their thinking and learning skills but also their "emotional intelligence" which determines how well they interact with others, manage and organize themselves, and deal with stress every day. "Mental wellbeing" is linked to personal and social fulfillment and changes from day to day.

The study found that:

• Early intervention is crucial: from noticing and treating learning difficulties in the young to using biomarkers to spot the early signs of dementia in older people.


• A small increase in mental wellbeing leads to a large decrease in mental health problems for all age groups.


• There are lots of ways to tackle and reduce the huge burden of mental illhealth in the UK, which in England alone costs 77 billion pounds a year.

Professor John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government, and Director of the Foresight Programme, said the study revealed new ideas based on "cutting edge science" to reveal the sorts of challenge that lie ahead and how they might be tackled.

"There is good work being done but progress can be made and taxpayers money saved if government departments work together more effectively to tackle these issues," he said.

More money and resources must be invested in spotting learning difficulties early in life and helping youngsters get more education and learning so they can get better jobs.

"The report has shown that if an individual is fulfilled in their work this positively affects wellbeing, this in turn will see reduced expenditure on the treatment of mental health problems," said Beddington.

"Competition from abroad and uncertain economic times will drive people to work harder and smarter. Both will result in increasing demands made on individuals and the state," he added.

The report, which drew on over 100 expert papers, identified three key areas: learning in the early years, wellbeing at work, and the ageing population.

Learning in the Early Years

• 1 child in every 10 has some kind of learning difficulty.


• One example is dyslexia and dyscalcia (difficulty using numbers). These can substantially reduce GCSE achievements and lifetime earnings. Dyscalcia is probably as common as dyslexia but often goes undetected.


• Teachers need more training on neuroscience and developmental psychology.

Wellbeing at Work

• The UK loses between 10 and 14 million days working days or 750 million pounds a year through absenteeism.


• The UK could also be losing even more through "presenteeism", where people are physically present at work but unproductive.


• Lifelong training and development is the key not only to competing globally but also to improving mental wellbeing.


• New ways of working flexibly are needed to help workers balance the demands of work and caring for older relatives.


• Occupational health and primary care should work together more closely to spot early symptoms of stress and mental ill health and help workers get back to work.

Ageing Population

• People who are currently in middle age need to adopt protective lifestyles now.


• Dementia is a massive time bomb: by 2071 the number of people over 65 could double to over 21 million, and the number over 80 could treble to 9.5 million.


• The current bill for dementia treatment in the UK is 17 billion pounds a year and is expected to rise to 50 billion in 30 years.


• New developments in biomarkers for dementia could help detect the disease earlier and ensure earlier treatment and thereby improve quality of life and reduce the nation's health burden.


• The mental capital of older people is a huge and underused national resource. Not only would unlocking this bring more wellbeing and prosperity to older people but it would benefit society as a whole.


• There is enormous scope to improve the wellbeing of the elderly, from better treatment for mental disorders like depression to helping them get paid and upaid work if they want it, as well as enabling social networking and lifelong learning.

Another report is due in 12 months' time, this time from the DIUS, stating how these policy recommendations are being implemented across government and what other stakeholders are doing.

Click here for more information on the Mental Capital and Wellbeing project.

Source: DIUS.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD.


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